Mio Imada Captures Attention With a Fresh Look in Her New July Drama Role

Still visibly excited after filming

In early April, when the evenings still carried a slight chill after sunset, a drama shoot was taking place at a park in Koto Ward, Tokyo.

Inside the park, many staff members wearing black down jackets were moving around busily. Among them, there was one person who stood out—a woman wearing a dress.

It was actress Imada Mio (29).

“In May this year, it was announced that Imada would star in the TV Asahi Tuesday night drama ‘Crossroad: The Promise of Emergency Medicine,’ which airs in July. Imada plays Haruka Haruki, an emergency physician working in the emergency department of Yokohama Bay Hospital.”

“Haruka is an elite doctor who graduated at the top of her medical school class. She has excellent skills, but she is still a young doctor with limited experience. The drama follows her and other young professionals, including emergency responders and police officers, as they cooperate, clash at times, and grow together. It is a passionate medical drama where youthful ideals of justice intersect.”

— Television magazine writer

This marks Imada’s first drama appearance since starring in last year’s NHK morning drama Anpan. She also appeared on TV Asahi’s “Doctor-X: Surgeon Daimon Michiko” starting in 2019, playing a nurse, but this is her first time portraying a doctor.

At a preview event held in Tokyo on June 30, Imada appeared on stage. When a medical student invited to the event asked whether playing a doctor was different from playing a nurse, she answered:

“It’s completely different. In ‘Doctor-X,’ I had the role of handing doctors’ scalpels and surgical instruments during operation scenes. But simply changing positions completely changes what you see—the whole perspective is different. I found that fascinating, and I also felt that the language used was slightly different.”

Returning to the filming scene described at the beginning, it appeared to be an intense and emotionally demanding scene, and the atmosphere on set was quite tense.

After some time, filming ended. While staff members helped Imada put on a down jacket, she still appeared caught up in the excitement of the scene she had just performed, with an energized expression on her face.

On TV Asahi’s official website, Imada shared the following message:

“While filming, I found myself thinking, ‘Maybe this is what it means when people say that morning comes no matter whether you cry or laugh.’ It feels like an adult coming-of-age drama, and it has really moved me. I hope this becomes a work that makes everyone watching think, ‘I’ll do my best again starting tomorrow.’ Please look forward to it!”

Expectations are rising for Imada’s portrayal of a character’s journey of growth—one that will be different from her roles in “Doctor-X” and “Anpan.”

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